Producer Scouts: Burger & Beer Joint in Miami

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Producers Maureen Giannone and Brian Mait hit the streets to take on the arduous task of scouting the country's hottest destinations for upcoming episodes of 1st Look on NBC. Here's what they found this week.

When I think of Miami, my mind tends to wander to turquoise waters, white sand beaches, and the beautiful people that line them. That is until I landed at Burger & Beer Joint in Miami Beach, FL. From now on, Miami will inspire thoughts of 10 ounces of prime angus beef, hickory smoked bacon, bourbon BBQ sauce, American cheese, sesame seed buns, duck fat fries, seasonal beers on tap, turquoise water, white sand and beautiful people... just not necessarily in that order.

In all seriousness, Burger & Beer Joint is just that, a joint that specializes in serious burgers and serious beers for serious burger and beer enthusiasts. The angus beef patties are chargrilled, juicy (not greasy) and delicious. The "Thunder Road," cooked medium rare (unless specifically ordered otherwise), coated with melted American cheese that holds crispy slices of salty smoked bacon in place and then lightly doused in BBQ sauce, is sheer perfection between a sesame seed bun.

If you're not quite full from merely reading the above description, tack on the duck fat fries to your order, thin wedges of crispy fried golden goodness, lightly tossed in salt, should do the trick as they melt in your mouth.

And if you're still feeling ambitious after all of that, well then you're stomach's bigger than your eyes--or you have type-two diabetes--in which case, I recommend the popcorn shrimp which smelled so good coming to the table that heads literally turned to see what we were eating.